In industry there is frequently a need for separating oil from water before it reaches a sewer drain. Water containing oil is frequently discharged from air compressors, aftercoolers and air dryers. The need to maintain clean water supplies has made it increasingly important to remove the oil from water before discharge into sewer drains.
Separators for oil and water are known in the prior art and usually involve a vessel having an inlet for the oil and water mixture, a system of baffles and separate outlets for oil and water. U.S. Pat. No. 2,090,813 discloses apparatus including a series of horizontal baffles forming a zigzag liquid path between inlet and outlet. U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,508 discloses a separator wherein the mixture is introduced in the lower portion of the vessel and an inclined separator baffle divides the vessel between a water outlet and an oil outlet.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide novel apparatus for separating a first liquid from a second liquid of lower specific gravity.
It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus for separating liquids of different specific gravity which is simple in construction, has no moving parts and operates without consumption of energy.